The Space Between
by Xain D
Summary: Whoa! Stop right there! If you have not read my first story, "A New Addition," I you should do that first. Now, as I was saying, this is a story that will fill in the space between the end of season 1 (A New Addition) and the beginning of season 2. What adventures will Desmond and Young Justice go on? What heroes, new or old, will appear? Read on to find out! R&R please!
1. The Return of Desmond Marigold

_Author's Note: What's going on?! It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm back, and can't wait to get back into writing all these characters. As I said in the description, this is a continuation of my other story, "A New Addition," and so if you haven't read that, I'd suggest you do so before starting this. Anyway, I have had this written up for a while, but put off posting it in case I had writers block, and needed something in my back pocket. But then I was like, screw that, it's Wally West's birthday today! And so I decided that, well... today is the day._

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice, or any of the characters within it. Only Desmond Marigold/ al Ghul (spoilers)**

Chapter One

Return of Desmond Marigold

The sun was shining brightly down on the small town of Happy Harbor, as was typical of a summer day like this. Children played in parks, teens reclined at beaches, and adults enjoyed the weekend with friends and family.

And at the same time, a red car was careening out of control down a busy highway. It sped along the street, causing several other cars to swerve out of the way. The police cars giving chase couldn't get close enough in; the cars that had swerved away got directly in their paths. The red car got away.

Within the car were two girls; a sixteen year old, and her nine year old sister. The younger girl sat in the back, and the teen had her hands on the wheel. Next to her sat a man in a ski mask, with a gun pressed to the teen's temple. It was a hostage situation. The man in the mask had just robbed a bank, and was forcing the girl to act as a getaway driver.

News helicopters began to follow the red car down the highway. The reporters mentioned the fact that the police were having such trouble catching up with the man and his hostages.

Suddenly there was the sound of an explosion. About thirty feet in front of the car, a portion of the bridge it was on collapsed after a small explosion had cracked it apart. The car didn't stop, however, and sped up. The driver managed to jump the gap, and the car landed safely on the other side.

Just then, two boys appeared. One was wearing a black shirt with the Superman Shield on it. The other's outfit was a bit more out of the ordinary. It was blue and gold, with certain stripes of black. He too had a Superman S, but instead of a red one like the first boy, this one was gold, standing out against his blue-covered chest. The boy in blue stood tall, despite the speeding car heading for him.

The car came into contact with the boy. Any normal person would've been overwhelmed by the blow, crumpled to the ground, possibly died.

But Desmond Marigold, AKA Desmond al Ghul, AKA the hero Shifter, was far from a normal person.

Shifter lowered his density, and passed right through the front of the car. He reached out and grabbed the teen girl by the arms. Lowering her density as well, they both phased through the car. They landed on the rough concrete, and rolled upon impact.

"Please help!" the teen girl screamed. "You've got to help! My little sister's in there with that maniac!" Desmond smiled, and pointed toward the car.

Superboy ran towards the car, which was still moving at a fairly fast pace, and grabbed it on the hood. The momentum was too much to bring to a stop, at least without harming the girl inside. Instead, he transferred it, and tossed the car high into the air.

It sailed through the sky, but before it collided, a small arrow was shot from the distance. Artemis snuck it in just in time, too, because it had barely enough time to inflate the soft foam before the car hit the ground. With the car safely on the ground, a blur of yellow and red zipped over.

Kid Flash pulled open the door, grabbed the little girl and the sack of stolen money from the bank, and zipped over to Desmond.

"You want to take this one, Shifter?" he asked. "You are technically the leader right now." The two sisters embraced each other tightly as Desmond and Wally made their ways over to the criminal. He was currently waist-deep in Artemis' foam from the arrow.

Shifter stood above the would-be robber. "Come on, man," he said, crossing his arms. "Didn't anyone tell you that crime doesn't pay?" Superboy and Artemis walked up, so the four present members of the team were standing together.

"Really, Shifter?" asked Superboy. "Clichés? You're really letting this "being in charge" thing go to your head." Shifter jokingly punched his Kryptonian friend.

"Who are you guys supposed to be anyway?" the struggling criminal asked. "Superman's kids or something?"

"I am," said Conner.

"I just use the symbol," Desmond filled in. "Maybe you've heard of our team. We're Young Justice."

XxXxX

The teens arrived back at Mount Justice about an hour later. They had to take care of stuff with the police, and a few camera crews that had showed up. A year ago, this would've been terrible. Young Justice was meant to be a covert ops team, and it still was, in essence. But a while ago the Justice League had decided that perhaps civilians getting to know the teenage team wasn't such a bad idea. It would allow them to attract the attention away from any secretive business the League was up to.

For instance, the incident that happened last January, with Vandal Savage. A time period where several key members of the League had gone missing, dubbed the Sixteen Hours. While maintaining their usual duties, the League was constantly working on this issue. So far, however, there were no leads.

"How'd it go?" asked Zatana, walking into the living room where the others were currently lounging around. "Did Des do a good job as leader?"

"Oh yeah," said Artemis. "He rocked it." Desmond waved a hand modestly.

"I still don't think we all needed to be there, though," Kid Flash said. "Just a few, maybe you and me, that's all." Desmond shrugged.

"Hey, I wasn't taking any chances," he said. "With Kaldur in Atlantis, M'gann in Qurac," he looked to Zatana. "And you visiting Robin in Blüdhaven, I wanted to be able to use all our assets." Attention turned to Zatana.

"So, how is Rob?" asked Conner. Zatana shrugged.

"You know, same old," she said. "Fighting crime, kicking butt, taking names, that kind of stuff. Bats keeps checking up on him during the night. I don't know why, he's still living with the guy after all."

Recently, Robin had left Young Justice. It wasn't permanent, not by a long shot. After several missions in Gotham's sister city, the boy wonder had decided that this specific location was in desperate need for a hero. And since Batman mostly kept to Gotham, he had decided to take it upon himself to be that hero. He still returned to work with Young Justice often, but he had decided that, for the time being, he was no longer technically on the team.

Attention then turned to Desmond, with Zatana asking, "So, how'd the new suit feel?" Desmond smiled, and gave a thumbs up. Last year, Superman had invited his "son" Superboy into the House of El, dubbing him Kon-El (Superman, who had revealed himself to be Clark Kent, had the Kryptonian name of Kal-El.) In a surprising turn of events, he had invited Desmond to join his House as well. Des had refused, but Kal-El had still asked that Desmond don the symbol of the House of El—the Superman S—like the hero Steel, showing his allegiance to the House. Desmond had obliged, and as such, needed a new suit. The design had been changed a bit, and the deep purple was now swapped for a dark blue. All in all, it was a better suit.

"So…" said Wally after a moment. "When's M'gann supposed to get back anyway?" He, along with the others, looked to Conner. The two aliens of the team were dating, and everyone (even Wally, finally) knew it. They did nothing to hide it anymore. Desmond and Artemis, who were also a "thing" had never really hidden it. It had developed over the course of several months. From saving Artemis' life in the Gotham sewers, to a Ferris wheel ride she didn't remember, and a Halloween dance turned hero mission, the two had grown closer and closer. It worked, because neither of them were about the "lovey dovey" stuff; not like M'gann, who was constantly making Conner look stupid by acting all googly-eyed around him.

"Don't know," Conner told them. "Few days. She said something big was going on, but wouldn't tell me what." He shrugged, and the rest of the team dropped it. They had had a feeling that something was going down in Qurac since M'gann had left. She had gone by herself, instead of bringing someone along, like she normally did. It was usually Conner or Wally, but Des had been along a few times as well. He'd met little Garfield Logan, the son of the late Marie Logan. Marie Logan, who had ran an animal sanctuary, died, back in January, in a car crash. It was for this reason that M'gann had been making so many trips to Qurac recently, visiting Garfield in the orphanage he was staying at. Ever since she had saved Gar's life with a blood transfusion, the young boy had begun considering the Martian to be his sister, and who was she to deny a boy from seeing his sister in a time of need?

Thinking of sisters reminded Desmond of his own sister, Talia al Ghul. Though he despised his father, Ra's al Ghul, with a passion, he did love his half-sister. He worried about her, as she often chose to be on the wrong side of the coin of morality, so to speak, siding with their father in many if his plots and schemes. He forgave her for that. But he would never forgive Ra's for the hell that the immortal man put him through.

Des had thought he was rid of Ra's when he joined up with Young Justice, nearly a year ago. Unfortunately, Ra's caused even more trouble with Desmond's new family, putting most of them at risk. He had kept his family a secret from most members of the team, until one fateful night, when he, Conner, M'gann and Artemis had all aired their grievances and secrets. Superboy was the clone of both Superman and, as they'd discovered, the villain Lex Luthor. Artemis was the child of the cons Sportsmaster (who was no fun to tangle with) and Huntress, not to mention the sister of Cheshire (who was… admittedly, a little fun to tangle with.) M'gann revealed her true White Martian form, and Desmond had come clean about his family as well. Then they had proceeded to the island of Santa Prisca, where they had delivered quite the whooping to those who wished them harm. In the end, it had been a nice night.

The teens lounged about the Cave for a bit more, until Conner's phone vibrated. He picked it up, read a text, and then tossed a pillow at Desmond, who was dozing on the couch.

"What?" he asked, startled by the pillow.

"Text from Mal," he said. "Impromptu practice on the field in fifteen minutes. Wants to know if we're in." Desmond looked around at his teammates.

"You guy will be good here?" he asked them. His teammates gave a collective groan.

"YES!" came the reply from all of them. "Des," continued Wally. "Come on, don't take being in charge this seriously, 'kay?" Desmond smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry," he said, grinning. "Just trying to do good for my first time, you know? Come on Kon, let's get going." Conner nodded, and the two friends quickly left the living room.

"You want to Zeta-Beam there, or take the bikes?" asked Conner. Desmond thought for a minute.

"Bikes," he decided, and Conner nodded in agreement. The two heroes made their way to the garage, where every member of the team kept their motorbikes, each colored specifically for its corresponding hero. Even M'gann had one, though she usually just took the Bioship.

The boys mounted their respective motorbikes, and the garage opened up, revealing an upwards ramp that lead into a grassy field.

"Hey!" Desmond shouted to Conner, over the commotion coming from the lowering platform. "Race you there?"

"You're so on!" Conner agreed, and the two bikes revved to life. They sped out of the garage, barreling down the grassy field that lie next to Mount Justice, the home base of Young Justice. They were neck and neck, with Conner slightly in the lead.

They hit the main road, and had to slow down in accordance with the speed limit, but were still racing. The faster they went, the wider Desmond's smile grew. He loved being on Young Justice. He loved stopping crime, and saving the world. But most of all, he loved the friends and family he'd made. Before the team, he'd been alone. Now his heart was full of people that he cared for, and people that cared for him. He found a little brother in Robin, or Dick Grayson, as he had revealed himself to be named. He found a cousin in Zatana, which had originally been a cover story, but evolved into a very close friendship. He found a girlfriend in Artemis, and would stop at nothing to keep her safe. His emotions for the archer had been used against the both of them in the past, but they were stronger than that, and moved past it. He found great friends in Kaldur and M'gann and Wally, but his best friend—more or less his brother—was the Kryptonian riding alongside him. Conner and Desmond were as close friends as two could be. They had been together for every step of the journey so far, on and off duty. They trusted each other with their lives, and everyone knew it.

They slowed their bikes down as they reached the parking lot of Happy Harbor High School, which they attended. They would be going into Junior year, and had decided that it was probably a good idea to get a few extracurricular activities on their transcripts. Their friend Mal Duncan, quarterback of the Happy Harbor Hornets, had suggested that the two join the football team. It seemed as good an activity as any, so why not?

"You'd better be careful out there," Superman had told them, when Conner told him about their plans to join the team. After a rough beginning, the two Kryptonians were much closer now than they used to be. Conner confided in Superman about most things, and if Desmond ever needed someone more worldly than his friends to talk to, Kal-El was there. "I played football myself for a while, back in Smallville. I was good, too. But I started using my powers, and got close to hurting some people. Just make sure you can pull back, alright?"

The boys had agreed, obviously, but were still planning on using their "advantages" a bit. It had sure helped them in the preliminary tryouts. The coach had been impressed. Two kids, out of nowhere, out playing nearly every varsity athlete. The only person that the heroes hadn't used their powers against had been Mal. Though their friendship had started out rocky, he had grown to see Conner and Desmond as friends. He, Marvin, and Wendy were the main "civilian" friends of Desmond, M'gann, Conner and Zatana.

"You guys are late!" Mal called to the guys, as he saw them coming down the field. Without warning, he sent a spiral directly in their direction. Desmond leapt into the air, grabbing it effortlessly, and then yelled for Conner to go long. The Kryptonian did so, only using a bit of his natural super speed to get exceptionally far. Grinning, Desmond raised his density, effectively increasing his strength. He flung the ball, executing a near perfect spiral, and watched as it sailed into Conner's waiting arms, sixty yards away.

"Damn…" Mal said, whistling. "I've told you guys how crazy good you are, right?" Des smiled, and gave Mal a gentle shove in the chest before running off to tackle someone who had gotten the ball from Conner.

XxXxX

Desmond and Conner practiced with the team for about an hour, until all the boys had decided to call it a night. The sun was dipping, and the bugs were coming out. Desmond and Conner walked back to their bikes together, when Desmond's phone buzzed.

"Text from Artemis," he told his friend. "She said… 'Des, Kaldur's back from Atlantis.' Cool, let's go see him." Conner nodded, and the two boys were about to hop on their motorbikes when a voice called to them.

"Yo, Conner, Des!" it called out. The heroes turned to see Mal approaching them. "Hey, some of the guys wanted to go see that new Nic Cage movie. You in?" Des and Conner quickly exchanged a look, and then Desmond tried to come up with a cover.

"Um…" he said. "Sorry, can't. We've got a friend visiting from…"

"Atlanta," supplied Conner quickly, covering for Desmond. "Yeah, he just got in. Not really the kind to go out with a group of people he doesn't know, you know?" Mal nodded understandingly.

"Yeah, that's cool," he said. "Man, you guys are always busy, huh? Better not be busy during the homecoming game, dudes. Yeah, it's not for a while, but it's the biggest game of the year. Mark your calendars boys!" And with that, he chased off after the other football players, hopping in his truck to drive to the movies.

"Atlanta?" Desmond said to Conner, eyebrow raised, as they mounted their bikes. "That's the best you could come up with?"

"You didn't seem to be coming up with anything," Conner retorted. Desmond gave him a rude gesture, and then the two friends revved their bikes to life. They raced down the Rhode Island streets, heading for the mountain cave that they called their home.

When they arrived, they found the main room empty, but there were voices coming from the kitchen. The boys quickly walked in to find their friend and team leader, Kaldur'ahm, standing there, chatting with the rest. Desmond quickly strode over to him.

"Good to have you back, Kaldur," he said, shaking the Atlantian's webbed hand. Aqualad had been in Atlantis for a week and a half, taking no breaks to come back to Young Justice. There had only been one mission (the bank robbery turned car chase from the afternoon) but it was still a pain to not have Kaldur'ahm there. Not to mention he was their friend.

"Good to be back," Kaldur agreed, with a smile. "Atlantis is fine, but nothing surpasses coming home to see friends." Kaldur shook Superboy's hand as well, then turned back to Desmond. "So, the others tell me you took charge while I was absent, like we'd decided. Did it go well?"

"Why does everyone keep asking that?" Desmond asked, turning in a circle to face the rest of the team. "Was there, like, a bet to see if I'd mess up?" No one said anything for a moment.

"Would you be less mad if I told you I'd won?" asked Artemis, a sheepish smile on her face. Desmond's jaw dropped, and his friends laughed. Wally punched him in the arm.

"No we didn't bet against you!" he yelled.

"Good!" Desmond said, crossing his arms in a huff, which caused the others to laugh again. He turned back to Aqualad. "So, Kaldur, how're things in Atlantis?"

Kaldur opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, there was the noise of the Zeta-Beam from the main room. "Recognized, Miss Martian, B05." The Team's eyes widened, and they all rushed back to the main room.

M'gann M'orzz stood there, back from her trip to Qurac. And she had someone with her. "Guys," she said. "This is Garfield Logan."

_So, how was that for a first chapter of the new fic, huh? Listen, I'm going to say this now; I have no idea how regularly I'll be updating this. I'll, of course, try and get to it as fast as I can, but sometimes stuff comes up, you know? Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed. If you liked it, and want to see more, I'd really appreciate a favorite, and most of all a REVIEW. They make me feel all warm inside. Adios._


	2. A Boy and a Mission

_Author's Note: Hello again! Chapter two, let's do it! Okay, so I'm glad you guys liked the first chapter, and I hope you like this one even more. Stuff happens this time, I swear. Anyway, without further ado..._

**Disclaimer: Only Des is mine. That's it.**

Chapter Two

A Boy and a Mission

Desmond had met Garfield Logan before. When he'd last seen him, he was a short boy, with orange hair and green eyes. His skin had been Caucasian, but tan, from working in the sun with his mother at their animal sanctuary. This boy was entirely different. He was still short, but now his hair and skin were a deep shade of green, darker by far than his eyes. His hair was longer and shaggier, and his teeth were slightly pointed. Oh, and he had a tail.

"Gar…" said Superboy, looking more surprised than the rest. He and Miss Martian were the most familiar with the boy, and so this came as the biggest shock to him. "Wha… what happened?"

"Cool, huh?" asked Garfield. "Hey Wally, hey Desmond!" Kid Flash and Shifter gave small waves and weak smiles, both very confused.

"This is, uh, the 'big thing' I told you about, Conner," M'gann said.

"But wait!" said Gar, holding up his furry little hands. "There's more! Watch…" and before everyone's eyes, Garfield Logan quickly ceased being a nine year old boy, and became a jaguar. Artemis, Zatana and Wally jumped back a bit in surprise, and Kaldur, Conner and Desmond's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. The large green jaguar growled a deafening growl, before once again becoming Garfield. "Pretty neat, huh?"

"How…" tried Desmond, before his words failed him completely.

"How is it you are able to do these things, Garfield?" asked Aqualad. "Last we heard of you, you were… normal…"

"I think it's a reaction to my blood," Miss Martian offered. "From the transfusion last year. At first, he just had a change of eye color. But now… this. It progressed, I think. He got my shape shifting abilities."

"And your skin tone," joked Wally quietly.

'It started about two weeks ago," Miss Martian continued. "The orphanage had decided that they couldn't have him there anymore. He was scaring the other kids. They said he'd need to be adopted in a month's time, or picked up by a legal guardian."

"And I told them," said Garfield proudly. "I told them, 'don't worry, my sister Megan will come and get me.' And then I called her up on that communicator thingy, and she came, like I knew she would." A few weeks after Gar's mother had died, the first time M'gann had went for a visit, she'd left him a communicator, like the Team and the League used. He'd told her that if he needed her, that he could just call. Clearly this had been one of those times.

"And so…" Kaldur said slowly. "And so you brought him here…?" M'gann blushed deeply.

"Well, I just thought…" she began. "You know, we've still got a few empty rooms in the Cave. I figured he could stay with us. It couldn't hurt, could it?" All eyes in the room were on Kaldur'ahm. This was his call, one hundred percent. It was true, there was extra space to stay in. But Garfield was very young. Would Mount Justice be the ideal place for a small boy to grow up?

"How old are you, Garfield?" asked Kaldur.

"Nine," Gar responded.

"Nine…" Kaldur mused. "Robin was nine, when he first started working with Batman, was he not?" he asked. Wally nodded in affirmative. Kaldur was silent for another moment, and then, with a sigh, nodded. "Alright Garfield, M'gann. He can stay."

"All right!" exclaimed Garfield. He squeezed M'gann tight around the middle. "Thank you, thank you thank you! I can't believe I'm going to be part of Young Justice!"

"Whoa there," Kaldur interrupted. "I never promised such a thing. You may stay here, yes, but it is for the League to decide whether you will be put on the team." Gar was visibly disappointed, but Desmond tried to cheer him back up.

"Hey, no need to be bummed," he said quickly, walking over and placing a hand on the young boy's furry shoulder. "I'm sure they'll let you on the Team. I mean, I'm on the team, and my dad is the head of a group of assassins!" Gar looked at him with narrowed eyes, his head cocked. "Okay… so maybe that wasn't the best thing to say…"

"M'gann, Conner," interrupted Aqualad quickly. "Why do the two of you not give young Garfield a tour of the Cave. If he is to stay here, he should be familiar with it." This was enough to bring a toothy grin back to Gar's face, and he looked expectantly from M'gann to Conner.

"Yeah, alright," said Conner. "Come on Gar, I'll show you where the kitchen is."

"Sweet!" said Garfield. He shifted form into a sparrow, and flitted next to Superboy, before turning back into a human.

"That'll take some getting used to…" said Superboy, before he led Garfield out of the room. M'gann walked after them, but first she stopped at Kaldur.

"Thanks for letting him stay," she whispered. "It means a lot to him, more than you know."

"Of course," said the Atlantian. "We take care of our own. Now, join him and Conner. I'm sure they'll want to be with you." M'gann nodded, and floated off after them.

"We should go too," said Wally. "Can't have the little fur ball eating all the food in the fridge, can we?"

"Nope," said Des. "That's what you're for, Wally." As Wally, Desmond, Artemis and Zatana went to join their teammates, Aqualad stepped in front of them.

"Zatana," he said quietly. "You are spending the day with Robin tomorrow, correct?" The young magician nodded in affirmative. "Then you may join the others. This will not concern you." Zatana exchanged a quizzical look with Des, Wally and Artemis before walking off to the kitchen.

"What's up Kaldur?" asked Artemis, confused.

"I was hoping not to bring this up until we had more Intel on the matter," he said, in a hushed tone. "But with the arrival of young Garfield, now seems like as good a time as any." He walked to the center of the room, and pulled up the Holo-computer. Images of newspaper clippings appeared. A few headlines were in other languages, but the English ones all had similar titles; "Childhood Star, Dead in Crash"; "Animal Sanctuary Owner Found Dead"; "Logan Left for Dead in Car."

"These are the clippings from Marie Logan's death," Aqualad told them solemnly. They nodded. Desmond remembered how depressed M'gann had been after hearing the news. She had based her Earth persona's appearance on Marie Logan's character in the old sitcom 'Hello Megan,' and after the initial mission M'gann had went on to Qurac, Marie and Garfield had more or less adopted M'gann into the family. It must have been like losing a relative.

"These news clippings were taken from a month earlier," said Aqualad, pulling up a few more clippings. Almost all were in another language, but Desmond could see one or two that read "Sumaan Harjavti; National Hero of Qurac." The images showed Qurac's president, Rumaan Harjavti, being pushed out of the way of a bullet by his brother, Sumaan.

"Okay…" said Desmond. "So Rumaan is safe, and Sumaan is a hero. What does that have to do with Marie's car accident?"

"We have reason to believe that Queen Bee, the Bialyan dictator and super villain, is responsible for both, in some capacity," Aqualad explained. "The Quraci National Guard performed a DNA analysis of the wreck of Marie Logan's vehicle. They found Queen Bee's DNA at the scene."

"Alright," said Kid Flash. "Queen Bee's behind Marie's death, but I still don't get what that has to do with the Harjavti brothers."

"As you know," continued Aqualad. "Last year, Queen Bee set her sights on gaining political control of Qurac, and uniting it with Bialya. Since you, Robin, Superboy and Miss Martian stopped her, we believe she has changed her approach." He pulled yet another picture up on the screen. It was a photo of a man in a trench coat, with a silver mask on. The mask had only one eyehole, which acted as a crosshair that one would find on a sniper rifle. Several guns hung from his belt. "This is the assassin Deadshot. We have reliable sources indicating that he was hired by Queen Bee just weeks before the attempt on Harjavti's life. The logical conclusion, of course, is that she hired Deadshot to carry out what happened last December."

"But she failed," said Artemis pointedly. "Sumaan saved his brother; Harjavti's still in power."

"This is true," said Aqualad. "Rumaan Harjavti still rules, but that does not necessarily mean Queen Bee's plot was a failure."

"Are you saying Queen Bee didn't want Deadshot to kill Rumaan?" asked Desmond, thoroughly confused. "Why would she hire an assassin if she didn't want someone assassinated?"

"We believe Queen Bee has Sumaan under her control," said Aqualad. "Or plans to enslave him soon. Now that he has become a national hero to the people of Qurac, he is likely to be chosen as a successor to Rumaan Harjavti."

"So… so that was Queen Bee's plan," said Kid Flash, sounding as if he'd just cracked a code. "Deadshot makes an attempt on Rumaan's life, making Sumaan deflect it. Sumaan becomes a hero, and…and…"

"And when Rumaan dies, Sumaan takes over, with Queen Bee controlling his every move!" said Shifter, coming to the same realization as Kid Flash.

"Precisely," said Aqualad. "And we believe Marie Logan knew of this plan, which was why Queen Bee ordered her to drive off a cliff, causing her death, and Garfield's becoming an orphan."

"That makes sense," said Artemis, nodding. "But what are we supposed to do about it? That was in December, it's July. What's done is done, we can't go back in time."

"Not without Flash's Cosmic Treadmill," KF pointed out.

"This is true," said Aqualad. "But we can try to prevent Queen Bee's plans from coming to fruition. Rumaan Harjavti is holding a press conference in two day's time in Dhabar, Qurac's capital city. This has been his first conference since the attempt on his life. The League's contacts in Bialya have reported that Queen Bee has left her palace, and not returned in a week's time."

"You think another attempt is going to be made on Harjavti's life," Desmond commented.

"Indeed," said Aqualad. "With Sumaan having won Qurac's favor, there is nothing in the way of him gaining power over the people, except his brother. Queen Bee eliminates Rumaan, his brother is elevated to power, and Queen Bee has a puppet ruling Qurac."

Aqualad quickly looked towards the kitchen, making sure no one else was coming back, and hearing what they were discussing. "Tomorrow morning, the three of you will take the Bio-Ship, and fly to Qurac. You are to try and find Queen Bee's hired assassin before the press meeting. If you should fail, you will provide extra security for Rumaan until the meeting is over." Desmond, Artemis and Wally nodded.

"Just the three of us?" asked Kid Flash. "Why not anyone else? Why not you?"

"Well, as we've already mentioned, Zatana will be in Blüdhaven tomorrow," Kaldur began. "Superboy, Miss Martian and young Garfield are far too emotionally connected to Marie and Garfield Logan to go in with a clear head. And I… well, after my last mission in Bialya, I'm not too fond of returning anywhere near that desert." Just before Desmond had joined up with Young Justice, the team had been sent on a mission to the Bialyan desert, during which Kaldur almost died of lack of water. His reasoning was completely acceptable. He put a hand on Desmond's shoulder. "This means you will need to lead your first official mission," he said. The car chase from earlier that day was hardly a mission, just a quick dose of heroism. "I hope being in charge for such a high-priority case doesn't put you under too much pressure, Desmond."

"No way," said Des, waving a hand. "You don't need to worry Kaldur, we can handle it." Aqualad smiled warmly, his eyes crinkling.

"Good," he said. "Now, you should all get some sleep. You have a long flight tomorrow." And with that, he walked to the Zeta-Tube, and was gone in a flash.

"I'm going to get something to eat, then head off to bed," Des told Artemis and Wally. "I suggest you guys do the same." Wally and Artemis exchanged a look, and a smirk. "What?"

"Do do do dun dun do do…" Wally said quietly, confusing Desmond. "Do do do dun dun do do…"

"Pressure!" sang Artemis. "Pressing down on me!"

"Oh, very funny!" said Des, suddenly realizing they were singing Queen's 'Under Pressure' because of what Kaldur had said about putting Desmond under pressure. "You guys are hilarious."

XxXxX

The next morning, Desmond had to be careful. He needed to get out of the Cave without alerting the others, as Aqualad had made it clear this was a secret mission. Instead of waiting for Artemis and Wally to arrive at the Cave, he Zeta-Beamed to Gotham, to get Artemis. When she had been under the guise of Green Arrow's niece, she had told the others that she lived in Star City, like he did. But after revealing herself to be the daughter of Sportsmaster, she gave up the rest of her rouse as well. She lived in Gotham with her mother, Paula. Desmond had been to her home a few times, and as such, he knew the way to it.

He slinked through the Gotham streets. This early in the morning, no one was out, so he didn't need to worry about being seen density shifting. Once he found Artemis' apartment complex, he quickly lowered his density, and passed up towards her floor. He entered her room, the one she'd used to share with her sister Jade, or Cheshire, as the Team knew her. He silently crept over to her sleeping form, and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Artemis," he whispered. "Artemis, wake up. It's time to go." Her eyes flung open, and she leapt out of bed, kicking Desmond in the chest. Suddenly she realized who it was, and dropped to the floor, making sure Des was alright.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed quietly. "Sorry Des! I thought you were…"

"Your dad?" guessed Desmond, as Artemis helped him to his feet. She looked away, but nodded. Sportsmaster, much like Ra's, always wanted his child to come over to his side of the good vs. evil battle. He was a villain, his eldest daughter was a villain, and his wife used to be a villain. It was the family business, so to speak. Artemis wasn't having any part of it, thankfully.

"Well… it's just me," Desmond offered. "Come on, get dressed, we'll get Wally, and then we're headed to Qurac." She nodded, and moved over to her dresser. She pulled out her heroine outfit, and began pulling off her night shirt, before she remembered Desmond was still in the room.

"Ahem!" she said sharply. Desmond grinned cheekily, and turned to let Artemis change. "Alright," she said after a moment. "Ready. Let's get Wally and go."

XxXxX

M'gann's Bio-Ship approached Qurac. Desmond and Wally sat in front, while Artemis (who had the most hours on the Bio-Ship, aside from M'gann herself) piloted.

"So let's go over it again," said Desmond, causing Kid Flash and Artemis to groan. This was the seventh time Desmond had gone over the plan. "Dhabar isn't that big, so we split it up. Artemis, you'll cover the northernmost portions of the city. I'll take the east. KF, you take south and west, since you can cover the most ground." Kid nodded in affirmative. "Okay, now we're not sure who Queen Bee's assassin would be, but we should keep our eyes open for any known assassins who've worked for her before, like Deadshot. Or any assassins that have worked with her associates."

"Meaning your dads are fair game," Wally said, turning from Desmond to Artemis, and back again. "Plus the rest of the League of Shadows."

"Of course," said Artemis. "Plus, don't forget that Queen Bee could have multiple agents on this one. In case she's met with resistance. Shifter, you've really got your work cut out for you." Desmond forced a chuckle.

"Very funny," he said. "Okay, since we don't have M'gann with us, we're going to need to use our communicators. Only call if you absolutely need to. There's a good chance one of them could intercept our radio signal." The others nodded. "Alright, I think we're good. Artemis," he stood, and pointed to a small area of bushes and trees, about two miles from the city of Dhabar. "Land there." Artemis nodded, and the camouflaged Bio-Ship slowly began to descend.

The three heroes emerged, activating the stealth mode on their costumes. They swiftly made their way through the gates of Dhabar, and stealthily got to the central area of the city. "The Presidential Palace is here," said Desmond, pointing to a map of the city he'd gotten off the internet. "Harjavti's meeting is at three, and right now its…" he checked his watch. "One fifteen. If we don't fund anything, meet at the palace at two thirty, agreed?" the others nodded once. "Good. Now go!" Immediately, Kid Flash zipped off, and Artemis fired off a grapple launcher, and flew to the rooftops of Dhabar. So far, Desmond felt he was doing a pretty good job as leader.

Desmond made his way to the nearest rooftop, and began scouting along the streets and alleys of Dhabar. Many citizens milled around, completely unaware that there was most likely a trained killer somewhere in their midst. And with only a little more than an hour to find said killer—or killers—Shifter had to work fast. He leapt from the building he was on, and landed on a smaller rooftop nearby. It was then that he realized that this method was rather slow. With a quick look around, Shifter lowered his density, leapt into the air, and began to fly.

Last year, Batman had had some theories about Desmond's powers, theories which were tested, and proven correct. They found that, in his lowest density, Desmond was able to both possess an unaware person, like a ghost, and fly for short amounts of time. Des had been spending a lot of his off time practicing flight recently, and now he could stay airborne to upwards of forty minutes. Luckily this particular day in Qurac was particularly cloudy, meaning Desmond could soar over the city unnoticed.

As Shifter soared around, dipping low often to try and catch sight of any suspicious activity, he radioed Artemis and Kid Flash. "Anything yet?" he asked them.

"Nada," said KF.

"Me neither," said Artemis. "But… is that you, flying?"

"Maybe," said Shifter. "Does it look like me?"

"Yes."

"Then it's probably me," he said sheepishly. "If you noticed me, that means they can too. I'll land. Call if either of you see anything."

"Right."

"Yep."

As Shifter slowly began to dip lower and lower, coming in for a landing, he saw someone out of the corner of his eye. Someone who shouldn't be in Dhabar. Artemis' father, and member of the League of Shadows, Sportsmaster. He stood in an alleyway, between two abandoned buildings. Seeing his chance, Shifter angled his body, and dive-bombed the criminal. Just before making contact, Shifter hardened himself again, and barreled into Sportsmaster.

The villain went sprawling across the alley, and Shifter quickly ran up and grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket. "Well well well," said Sportsmaster, behind his grey hockey mask. "Look who we have here. Long time, Demon's Son. Taking a vacation in Qurac?"

With a snarl, Shifter spun, flinging Sportsmaster into a nearby wall of an abandoned building. He crashed through, and Desmond followed him into the building. He lifted Sportsmaster up again, and leered at him.

"Are you Queen Bee's assassin?" Desmond demanded. Light filtered into the building through holes in the roof and walls, casting shadows on Des' face and Sportsmaster's mask.

"Don't know what you're talking about, pal," Sportsmaster said. "Say, are you still dating my no good daughter?" Desmond pressed Sportsmaster against a wall, and held him there with his left hand. With his right, he pulled back a fist.

"Don't change the subject, Crusher," Desmond spat, using Sportsmaster's real name. "I know you're not here for a leisurely stroll through the alleyways. Tell me what you know. Is someone going to make an attempt on Harjavti's life?" Sportsmaster chuckled.

"You got spunk, kid," he said, nodding. "Even if I did know what you were talking about, why would I tell you? Think, huh?"

"Because if you don't, I'll pummel your face in until it looks like one of your hockey masks," Desmond offered. Sportsmaster laughed again.

"You've got me there," he said. "Alright kid, how about this…" And he head butted Desmond in the face. Shifter reeled back, letting go of Sportsmaster. The criminal quickly pulled his flail out of the back of his pants, and began swinging for Desmond's chest. Des lowered his density, and walked right through the flail. He raised his density again, and before Sportsmaster could get a hit in, Shifter kicked him in the chest. Sportsmaster flew back, and Des ran after him. He used his boot to keep him pressed on the ground, and leaned in low to talk.

"Clearly I won't be getting anything out of you," Shifter said. "I'm kind of glad, actually. It means I can do this." And he lifted Sportsmaster up, and rammed his knee into Sportsmaster's skull. Artemis' father fell to the ground, unconscious. Desmond radioed the others. "Sportsmaster's here."

"What?" came Artemis' reply. "Did you get him?"

"Yeah," responded Des, bending down to fit Sportsmaster with handcuffs. "Wasn't giving me anything to go on though. Had to knock him out."

"Well now what?" asked Kid Flash. "We've got, like thirty minutes before we were planning on meeting up. D'you think Sportsmaster was Queen Bee's assassin?"

"I don't know," Shifter admitted. "He told me he didn't know anything about it, but I'm sure he was just playing dumb. I'll drop him off with the Quraci guard."

"And then what?" asked Artemis. "We go home?"

"No…" said Des. "We go to the press conference, like Aqualad said. We can't be sure that Sportsmaster was the only one here. We'll head home after the meeting. I'll go leave Sportsmaster with the guard; meet up at the Palace, alright?"

"Sure," said KF.

"See you guys there," said Artemis. Desmond's communicator turned off. He looked at Sportsmaster's hulking, unconscious form. With a sigh, he hefted Sportsmaster's body onto his shoulder, and began to walk.

XxXxX

"Harjavti is going to greet the crowd in twenty minutes," said Artemis. "If we divide up the area, we can all take a section, giving him total coverage from all sides." Shifter nodded.

"Right," he said, nodding. "Okay, from the center of the area, the palace is north. That means we'll need to cover east, south and west. Artemis, you take the east, Wally the west. I've got the south. Check everywhere, but don't let Harjavti out of your line of sight. Remember, we don't know who this person is, or if it's just one person. Any one of the people here are fair game; an assassin in disguise. Triple check everywhere, okay? Guys…" Desmond looked around quickly, making sure there was no one around. "This might determine the fate of a country."

"Whoa," KF said. "If we pull this off, that'll be two countries I've helped save!" Desmond slugged him gently in the shoulder. "Just kidding!" Kid said defensively.

"Guys, we're kind of low on time," said Artemis. "Let's get moving, shall we?"

"Right," said Shifter with a nod. "Okay, fan out. Take positions, and stay vigilant." The two other heroes nodded, and the three of them separated. Desmond immediately moved to the southernmost area of the open square that was laid out in front of the Presidential Palace. He looked around, making sure there were no civilians nearby, and quickly floated to the top of the nearest building. From up here, he got a view of the entire square. It was time to wait.

In twenty minutes' time, the great doors of the Palace opened. Rumaan Harjavti, his brother Suuman, and his daughter Noor all walked out, flanked by ten security guards. "Of course this place is crawling with guards," Desmond whispered to himself. "Last time Harjavti talked publically, he was shot at. Well, Kaldur did say we would be extra security." Just then, his communicator buzzed.

"Cave to Shifter," came the voice of Aqualad. "Status report."

Speak of the devil, Shifter thought. "Shifter here. We apprehended Sportsmaster, but he didn't give us any Intel. Decided we should probably stay for the press conference, then come back home once he's safe back inside his palace."

"A wise move," Aqualad said warmly. "Something a good leader would do."

"You thinking of stepping down?" Desmond asked. There was silence for a moment, and Des had a quick flash to the previous year. After the "train for failure" mental training, with the counseling sessions with Black Canary. She had told Desmond that Kaldur had admitted he was thinking of stepping down, and his choice of a replacement was either Robin or Desmond himself.

"No," said Kaldur at last. "At least, not yet. But I am glad you are here to take the reins on occasion."

"No problem," said Desmond. "Shifter out."

"Cave out." And the transmission cut off. Desmond, getting antsy, called both Artemis and Wally.

"Anything?" he asked.

"Nope," they both responded. Then Wally continued. "How long do you think this conference is going to be, anyway? He's been talking for like two hours!"

"It's been fifteen minutes, Wally," Artemis responded. She and Desmond shared a laugh, and then it was back to the silent and vigilant watching of the press conference.

Harjavti had been answering questions for at least an hour by now. If someone was going to assassinate him, thought Desmond, as he lounged on the rooftop. Wouldn't they have done it by now? He's got to be almost done.

Shifter decided to do yet another sweep of the area. In front and center was Harjavti, on the stage. Next to him was his brother and daughter, along with ten security guards, five on either side of him. Next, Shifter scanned the crowd. There were several hundred people, reporters mostly. None of them appeared to be armed, visibly or otherwise. They were either eager reporters, or somewhat bored pedestrians. The sun, still behind the clouds, was dipping a bit, painting the area a pinkish orange. It was pretty, in a way. Satisfied with his scan of the area, Desmond let his eyes begin to wander. For the first time he really noticed how large the Presidential Palace was. Four floors high, plus probably some sort of basement or storage area underground. There were so many windows in the front that Desmond imagined that there must have been a whole fleet of people to put the glass in when the Palace was first built. But then something caught his eye.

There was someone in one of the countless windows.

Shifter recognized him immediately. It was the strange mask, the one with one eyehole that doubled as a crosshair. The assassin, Deadshot. And he was aiming a gun at the back of Rumaan Harjavti. Desmond lowered his density, and leapt off his perch towards the palace. He was getting closer, closer, nearly at the palace.

And Deadshot pulled the trigger. A single bullet flew from his gun, striking Rumaan Harjavti in the back. He hollered in pain, and fell forward, losing blood fast. As Desmond flew towards the palace, he saw Kid Flash and Artemis come running towards the dying President.

Desmond made it to the window, phased through the wall, and re-hardened himself. Deadshot stood, holding two pistols pointed directly at Shifter's Superman S. Her open fired, and the bullets bounced off Desmond's chest as if they were rubber and he was steel. He tackled Deadshot to the ground, flung his guns away, and began pummeling him on his chest.

He grabbed the assassin by his overcoat, and threw him at the nearest wall. He broke through it, much like Sportsmaster had earlier, and into the main hall. He tumbled down the stairs, and landed in the Palace lobby. Desmond quickly phased through the floor, and met the assassin on the ground floor.

He hoisted Deadshot into the air. "Did Queen Bee send you?!" he demanded. Deadshot was silent for a moment, and then started chuckling.

"Yeah, yeah she did," he said, his voice a bit muffled from the strange mask. "And now that my contract's fulfilled, I think I'll collect my pay." Deadshot opened his hand, and something small and round dropped out of it. As it hit the ground, Shifter realized all too late it was a smoke bomb. Smoke filled the room, and in his surprise, Desmond's grip lessened on Deadshot's jacket. He twisted away, fired a few bullets at Shifter for good measure, and then ran. The smoke cleared. He was gone.

Just then, Artemis and Kid Flash ran in. "Shifter…" said KF. "Harjavti… he's dead…"

_So... yeah... This chapter is going to carry over into the next, with Desmond going through some serious inner turmoil. So get ready for all of that fun stuff. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed, and if you did, drop a favorite or a review on me, I always appreciate it. Until next time!_


	3. Failure

_Author's Note: Get ready for a feels-trip..._

Chapter Three

Failure

The Bio-Ship arrived back at Mount Justice on the third of July, in the middle of the day. The flight home from Qurac had been virtually silent, with only a simple recommendation to go into camouflage mode passing between Desmond and Artemis. Even Wally, the chatterbox of the Team, was silent. Facts were facts; Rumaan was dead, Sumaan would take over. Queen Bee had her foothold. They had failed.

As the three teens walked into the Mission Room, they were greeted by Aqualad. He looked somber. "I heard," he said simply. Desmond had refrained from radioing in the results of the mission, but clearly Aqualad had figured it out already. "I am sorry to hear that you could not stop Deadshot."

"I could have," Desmond muttered.

"What?"

"I could have," Desmond said again. "If I had been less careless. Deadshot was in the palace, the one place I didn't cover. I didn't think we'd need to. I specifically told KF and Artemis to cover the east and the west, and I covered south. The palace was north, and I didn't think we'd need to worry about it. But now Harjavti's dead…" Desmond looked away, and Artemis put a hand on his shoulder. He shrugged it off bitterly.

Just then, Superboy, Miss Martian and little Garfield walked in. Gar's eyes lit up when he saw Desmond, Artemis and Kid Flash, and he turned into a hummingbird and flew over. He returned to normal, a smile on his face. "Hey! You guys are back! Where were you?"

"Nowhere, Gar," tried Wally. "Just out."

"But Desmond didn't sleep in his room last night," Garfield continued, confused. "Did he stay at one of your houses?" He then, for the first time, noticed how visibly upset Desmond was. "Hey… is something wrong?"

Desmond looked at Garfield, his green eyes full of confusion, and hope that things would work out. Desmond managed a weak smile. "Yeah Gar, everything's fine," he assured the boy. "We were on patrol last night. You know, keeping the cities safe." Gar's face broke into a smile.

"Cool!" he said. He turned to M'gann. "When can I go on patrol?" She chuckled.

"Batman hasn't even said that you're on the team yet," she reminded him, with a grin. "He's coming today to assess you, remember?"

"Yeah yeah," said Garfield, waving a hand. He turned back to Desmond. "I was up all night, thinking of a hero name! What d'you think about Creature Kid?" Desmond laughed a bit, trying not to let his anger from the mission flare up.

"Not bad," he said. "But it doesn't exactly roll of the tongue. How about… Beast Boy?" Garfield looked as if he was mulling it over.

"Beast Boy…" he said again. "Pretty cool. I'll think about it." Desmond smiled, and ruffled the boy's green hair.

"Hey Gar," said Superboy. "Did I show you the hangar? There's motorcycles in there."

"Cool!" exclaimed Garfield, his eyes wide. He ran off, Superboy trailing after him. As Conner passed Desmond, he gave him a look that asked if things were okay. Des shook his head.

"So…" said M'gann, as soon as Garfield was out of the room, and out of earshot. "Where were you guys actually?"

"I sent them to Qurac," said Kaldur. "Queen Bee was… was planning to assassinate Rumaan Harjavti." M'gann's eyes went wide.

"Oh god," she said. "Did… did you three…" Desmond quickly brushed past her and Aqualad, briskly walking towards the library.

"Batman will want a report emailed to the Watchtower by tonight," he mumbled, before leaving the Mission Room, and those in it, behind.

XxXxX

It had been an hour or so. Desmond sat at one of the desks in Mount Justice's library, a laptop on the table. He had been struggling to write the mission report for some time now. He knew he'd need to get to it, but it was much harder than he'd imagined. He'd only filled out one before; last Halloween, Desmond and the others had been able to apprehend Calendar Man before he murdered the mayor of Gotham. But they had succeeded, and so the writing of the report was kind of nice. He got to make himself sound great. But this time they had failed, and it was hard to write about your own failure.

"Apprehended Crusher Crock, AKA Sportsmaster," he typed, while reading it aloud. "Offered no information. Delivered to the Quraci Guard." This part was easy; he was typing facts, the things that had happened, and were no one's fault. Then there were tough times, when Des had to type the times he'd made mistakes.

"I chose to incapacitate Sportsmaster early on in our fight," Des continued, wishing he didn't need to. "Delivered unconscious. No doubt he could have offered more information if I had taken the time to interrogate him further."

Just then, there was the sound of footsteps in the library. Desmond looked up to see Wally and Artemis walking over. He quickly shoved his face back towards the laptop, hoping they would ignore him. Instead, they walked over, and sat on either side of him.

"Des," tried Artemis. "It was one mistake. Who would've thought to guard inside the palace?"

"It wasn't just one mistake, Artemis!" Desmond said. He showed her the report so far. "Look at this. I've written up to apprehending your dad. I've found six mistakes already, and none of them are even the major one. I messed this mission up so bad, it's a wonder we even made it to the press conference."

"Desmond, dude, don't be so hard on yourself," said Wally, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Everyone makes mistakes. Kaldur does all the time. And does he mope around?"

"Sometimes," Desmond answered. Wally turned slightly red.

"Okay, bad example," he admitted. "But you get what I mean. Mistakes happen to everyone. You don't need to beat yourself up so badly."

"Wally," Desmond said, exasperated. "A man died. A country is about to be controlled by Queen Bee, who's in league with Luthor, my dad, and who knows who else. Yeah, I kind of need to beat myself up over this one." Wally and Artemis exchanged an uncertain look, and then got up to leave, sensing they wouldn't be able to talk Desmond out of this funk.

"See you later then," Wally said quietly. He walked off.

"If you need to talk," said Artemis. "I'm here, okay?" She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and then followed Wally out of the library.

XxXxX

Desmond had decided to take a break from the report. He knew that if he stayed in that library all day, being all self-deprecating in that paper, he would go nuts. He needed to blow off some steam. Whenever he needed to relieve stress, there were a few good ways to do it. Recently, with his developing abilities of flight, he had taken to flying around above Happy Harbor. There was something so invigorating and calming about the open sky, and it never failed to lift his spirits. Today, however, was not the day for that.

He could always watch TV in the living room, with Wally and Conner. But he wasn't in the mood to laugh right now, or to talk to any of his friends. He needed solitude. He wished he could spend some time in Superman's Fortress, but knew it would never happen.

That left two options; a swim in the pool, or working out in the gym. And since he had a feeling that Garfield would be more interested in swimming around as a fish than working out, he headed to the gym. The last thing Desmond needed was to be around the kid right now; the woman that had caused Gar's mother's death had just gained even more power, and it was all Des' fault.

Desmond was relieved when the gym was empty. He pulled a large punching bag into the middle of the room, and cleared away some benches and loose weights, so he had space. He gave it a few jabs, and then a right hook. He gave the bag an uppercut, and then drove his knee into it's side. When using the bag (or most exercise equipment, for that matter) Des didn't raise his density. He wanted to be as strong as he could on a normal level, in case he was in a situation where he couldn't use his powers. Robin often said that he felt lucky that he had no powers; if one's abilities were to suddenly stop working, they would be in a lot of trouble. Desmond wondered what Robin was up to at that moment.

Probably not off ruining some mission, he thought to himself. Kaldur was right about Robin; he should be the leader in Kaldur's absence, not me. He continued to pummel the large grey bag for a while, until he heard the door slowly slide open. Sighing, Desmond looked to see who it was. Conner walked in, a weary look on his face.

"Hey Des," he said, sounding unsure. "How are you?" Desmond didn't look at him, and instead moved his gaze back towards the bag.

"Like Aqualad didn't tell you," Desmond said bitterly. Conner walked over, and held the bag, which Des continued to punch.

"No, he didn't," said Conner. "Me and M'gann asked, but he'd told me that it wasn't his place to say what had happened. Only the leader got to do that." Desmond's eyes widened in surprise. That was very considerate of Kaldur. But Desmond couldn't keep secrets from his best friend, so with a sigh, he explained.

"Harjavti's dead," he said solemnly. "And it's all my fault." Desmond stopped punching the bag. He slowly trudged over to a weight bench, and sat on it, his head hung. Conner walked over, and sat beside him.

"Look…" he said. "I wasn't there, so I'm not sure what happened. But what I am sure of is that you aren't the reason Harjavti's dead. Queen Bee is."

"If I hadn't been leader, we could've stopped Deadshot, the assassin," Des mused. "I'm sure of it."

"If you hadn't been leader," Conner said. "Then there wouldn't have been any mission at all. Desmond, listen. Aqualad picked the person to lead this team that he felt was best suited for the job. It wasn't me. It wasn't M'gann. It wasn't Artemis, Wally, or himself. It was you. And you did the best you could."

"Just wasn't good enough," Desmond muttered. "Maybe Kaldur's not the best judge of character, if he picked me to be the leader, huh?"

"Stop," said Superboy, standing up, and looking at Desmond crossly. "Listen to yourself. You're brooding and moping about like some kind of drama queen. You need to knock it off. Face the facts; you were leader, and you messed up. But that doesn't mean you can't be a good leader, it just means the mission was more than you could handle. Stop dumping on yourself, and move on." He briskly walked away.

It had been awhile since Conner's anger had flared up. When the two friends had first met, Conner had been a bit of a loose cannon. Nowadays his temper had evened out some, but he had just shown Desmond that he still had a bit of anger inside. Desmond sighed, stood up, and returned to punching the bag.

XxXxX

The day had dragged on, and it was night at last. Desmond was back in the library, and nearly completed with his mission report. He read the words as he typed them. "Perimeter scan… not sufficient…" he wrote. "Palace interior... not covered… adequately." He sat back in his chair, and ran fingers through his hair. He rubbed his face, feeling more tired than he had in a long while. Just a few sentences more, and he could go to sleep. Just a few sentences more, and he could try and put all of this behind him.

But what if he couldn't? He had watched the leader of a country get murdered. The assassin had been able to outmaneuver him. It was his fault. Was it even possible to move past something like that?

He heard the door to the library open, and he groaned inwardly. Another teammate coming to try and cheer him up. Who would it be this time? M'gann, with a plate full of her amazing chocolate cookies? Zatana, with happy anecdotes that Robin had told her at some point? Kaldur'ahm, with his wise words on being a leader and looking past mistakes and all that?

But it was none of them. It was Batman.

Desmond's tired eyes sprang open in surprise. He stood at attention to greet the Dark Knight. He always felt odd whenever he met Batman (or most Leaguers, actually) while he was wearing civilian clothes, while Batman wore his usual dark attire. But no matter, Batman was here to discuss something.

"Hello Desmond," he said, in his gruff yet quiet voice. "Aqualad told me about your mission to Qurac." Desmond's face fell.

"Yeah," he said glumly. "The report will be sent to the Watchtower by the morning, so no need to—"

"Never mind that," he said quickly, cutting Des off. "I've heard how it went from Artemis and Kid Flash." Desmond crossed his arms.

"You probably didn't hear all of it," he said, realizing his friends had most likely left out some crucial information. "You probably didn't hear how royally I messed up the mission. How it was my fault that Deadshot was able to assassinate Harjavti."

"Actually, I did," said Batman. "They tried to keep it from me, but I knew they were hiding something. It came out when I pressed them a bit more. I need to speak with you about your… attitude."

"If you're here to tell me to suck it up, you don't need to bother. Superboy took care of it."

"Well, that's not why I'm here," Batman clarified. "I just want to tell you this; it's a dangerous game we play, Desmond. Being heroes has its risks. You can do a lot of good, yes, but sometimes all the good in the world isn't enough to stop the evil. People get hurt. People die. No one is invincible. Rumaan Harjavti wasn't. I'm not. You're not. Kaldur's not. Like I said, people die. We can only hope it's no one on the side of good. Yesterday it was. Next time it might be as well. Everyone's at risk, even us heroes. Frankly, we won't all be around forever. Kaldur may not always be here to lead, and if he is not, then you need to be." Desmond averted his gaze.

"Here's what I'm trying to say," Batman continued. "Failure is a natural part of life, and even more so when you do what we do. As a leader, you can't dwell on all your mistakes. You need to accept them, and move on, or else you'll never be able to be a sturdy leader ever again. Do you understand?" Desmond looked up, took a breath, and nodded. "Good," said Batman. "Then I'll be off." He began to walk out of the library, leaving Desmond with a head full of thoughts and emotions.

But before Batman departed, Desmond called after him. "Batman, wait!" he said. The Dark Knight stopped where he was, but didn't turn around. "I know you didn't come here just to talk to me. You came to decide if Garfield can join the team, right?" He saw Batman nod. "Well? What did you decide?"

"Garfield Logan is not permitted to join Young Justice," Batman said. "He is too young."

"But Robin—"

"When Robin started out, he was under my constant surveillance. He had to wait four years before we formed this team." He then turned back to Desmond. "However, Garfield will be permitted to stay at Mount Justice. He may participate in training exercises with the rest of the team. We will be keeping a close eye on his powers and abilities, and when we deem fit… he may join the team." And with that, Batman left Desmond alone in the library.

_So Desmond had to get all introspective and bummed out. But, like, a dude died. An important dude. He felt pretty crummy about it. Anyway, I'm sorry to tell you this, but it'll probably be a while till the next update. But hey, you know what's a great way to show you want more? Reviews! I'm serious though, constructive criticism would be amazing. Or, you know, compliments. Those are pretty nice too. I loved reading how much you guys loved 'A New Addition' and I hope to get that feeling again with this story. So, um... bye._

_(Oh, also, buy Young Justice: Legacy. Could help get the show back.)_


	4. Aqua

_Author's Note: So I'm back. Hooray. Yeah, the updating of this is going to be really inconsistent. But let's get right into it!_

Chapter Four

Aqua

The next week or so went by uneventfully. Desmond had managed to cheer up when the Fourth of July came around. The Team had spent nearly all day on the beach that rested at the foot of Mount Justice, and had watched the fireworks from the warm sand. Artemis and Desmond had snuggled together on a blanket. Though it wasn't something either would normally do, they had decided to give into the more "mushy" side of their relationship. It had been a holiday.

The next day, they spent an hour or so scanning through the photos that had been taken. At first, it had just been Wally sneaking a few photos of M'gann in her bikini (which Conner wasn't too thrilled about) but at some point it became more. The camera had gotten passed around by the members of Young Justice, and they smiled and laughed as they all viewed some of the pictures captured the day before.

"Now that's a good one," Zatana had joked, as they looked at a picture of Desmond and Artemis splashing each other in the ocean. "That'll be one to show your kids one day."

"Shut up," Desmond and Artemis had said simultaneously, making the others laugh. They had looked through the rest of the pictures, pausing to laugh at some (Garfield and Wally burying Conner in the sand, Wally's defeated look as the volleyball Desmond and Kaldur were using crashed into his three story sand castle) and make comments at others (amazing shots of the fireworks, M'gann and Artemis sunbathing.) They had paused at a photo of Desmond and Wally surfing on large waves, which Kaldur had created with his hyrdokinesis.

"See," said Desmond. "Just one of the many reasons it's awesome to have an Atlantian on the team." The others smiled and laughed.

After that day, however, things had quieted down a lot. No missions required the team's attention, so they spent most of the past week and a half training with Black Canary. Garfield sat in on most lessons, but hardly ever got involved, much to his displeasure. But Canary had made it perfectly clear; Gar was not to engage in training with the others until Batman gave the okay. So for now, he would need to be okay with the sidelines.

Things had been, for the most part, pretty normal. Desmond had taken what Batman had told him to heart, and realized that he couldn't spend all his time dwelling on one failed mission, and as such was trying his best to forget it. But it wasn't Desmond that seemed to have things on his mind.

Aqualad had been acting rather strange these past few days. Apprehensive, always on the edge of his seat. He was sweating sometimes. Des didn't know Atlantians even could sweat. But Kaldur was. Desmond couldn't figure out what was up, but he wanted to know.

"Hey Kon," he whispered to Conner, using the Kryptonian name Superman had given him. Desmond had, at one point, been graced with a Kryptonian name as well, but never used it. Plus, Des-El just didn't sound good. "Have you noticed how weird Kaldur's acting recently?" Superboy nodded. They were walking down a hall towards the living room, with the entire team. The two friends hung back a bit to talk.

"Something's definitely got him on edge," Conner said. "Could it have to do with, you know, Atlantis stuff?"

"I don't know," Desmond said slowly, trying to figure it out. "He came back a week or so ago. If it had been that, don't you think it would've showed up by now? His worrying, I mean. No, I don't think this has to do with something that happened in Atlantis."

"Should we just ask him?" Conner said with a shrug.

"You know that's not our style," Desmond joked, and Conner gently punched him in the arm. "Whatever. If it's big, he'll tell someone eventually. After the whole mole thing last year, he's really started to confide more in us." It was true; the whole issue with who the mole had been the previous year had nearly driven a wedge between the team on more than one occasion. To prevent similar things from happening, Aqualad had been being far more open about his thoughts and feelings.

Superboy nodded, and the two walked into the kitchen. Wally was, obviously, munching on something or other. M'gann and Artemis sat in the living room, talking about this or that. Zatana was flipping through TV channels. Kaldur was getting himself a glass of water, still looking distracted. Conner and Des exchanged a look, but then shrugged it off, and joined the girls in the living room.

Garfield, in the form of a sparrow, fluttered around M'gann and Conner's heads, making Des and Artemis giggle. He perched on Superboy's shoulder, and tweeted loudly. Des held out a finger, and the little green bird hopped on. Des held the finger up to his own face.

"This power is so cool, Gar," he said. The bird twiddled happily, before flapping off to peck at whatever Wally was munching away at in the kitchen. Just then, the Zeta-Beam announced an arrival.

"Welcome, Aquaman, 06," it blared. Aqualad practically jumped out of his seat.

"They are here," he muttered, before bounding off towards the main area. With a few exchanged looks, the Team and Garfield quickly got up and followed suit. They arrived in the main room, to find Kaldur standing in front of his king Aqualad, bowing his head low. But Aqualad had not come alone. Standing next to him, were two more Atlantians. Both looked to be about Desmond's age. The first, a boy, wore blue, and had a long black ponytail. The other was a girl, with choppy orange hair, and a yellow and green outfit. The girl ran up and hugged Kaldur.

"Kaldur'ahm!" she said in excitement. "Today is finally the day. We have been waiting for so long." She released Aqualad, and the other boy walked up to him.

"Indeed, we have," he said, holding out a fist. Aqualad placed his palm over it, and squeezed gently. Must've been an Atlantian gesture. "Our king has decided that now we are ready."

"I'm sorry…" said Wally eventually. "Can someone please explain to me what is going on?" Kaldur turned to face them, a bright smile on his face.

"Wally," he said. "Everyone. These are my best friends from Atlantis, Tula and Garth. They have both decided to join me on the surface world. To become heroes under the tutelage of Aquaman." Before anyone else could say something, the girl, who must have been Tula, rushed up, and grabbed Conner and M'gann's hands.

"Superboy, Miss Martian!' she exclaimed. "It is so excellent to see you again." Last year, Conner and M'gann had both accompanied Kaldur on a trip to Atlantis. Though Des hadn't gone with, he'd heard from Conner it had been pretty cool. Tula turned to Kaldur. "Kaldur'ahm, let me see if I can guess who the others are." She looked at the other teens in the room, and after a moment, she pointed and spoke. "Artemis." She said, pointing to Artemis. "Zatana…" two for two. "Shifter and Kid Flash." She said. However, she had pointed to Wally when she said Shifter, and to Desmond when she said Kid Flash.

"Uh…" said Desmond, raising a hand. "Actually, _I'm_ Shifter."

"Kid Flash," Wally said, also raising a hand. Tula blushed slightly, and the other Atlantian, Garth, walked over to the members of the team he had never met.

"It is an honor to meet you all," he said, bowing his head slightly. His ponytail fell on the side of his head, and he brushed it back. "We have heard tales of all your heroics from Kaldur'ahm. It is truly a privilege to join your ranks." Just then, Garfield pushed forward.

"Whoa, _they_ get to join the Team?" he asked, ignoring the shocked looks he got from Tula and Garth at the sight of his green skin. "So not fair…" M'gann ruffled his hair.

"Tula, Garth, this is Garfield," she said. "He's my…" she faltered, clearly unsure of what to say. Desmond and the others knew that M'gann thought of Garfield as her brother, but would the young boy agree with the label? No matter, it seemed, because at that moment Superboy spoke up.

"Wait," he said. "Have you all been… talking about this for a while now?" The four Atlantians exchanged looks.

"Do you all know the story of how Kaldur'ahm became known as Aqualad?" Aquaman asked them.

"Well, yeah," said Wally. "He helped you defeat Ocean Master, and you offered him the chance to be your protégé."

"Half right," Aquaman said. "Kaldur'ahm helped me, true. But he did not act alone. He worked with Garth to help aid me in battle. In the end, I offered them both a role as a protégé, but only Kaldur'ahm accepted. But now, after completing his studies at the Conservatory of Sorcery, Garth has finally accepted my offer, on the two conditions that, first, Tula could accompany him, and second, that he would work alongside Kaldur'ahm, and the mighty heroes he fought with daily. Young Justice."

"We wish to help here on the surface world as much as Kaldur'ahm has," Garth explained. "Our King often tells tales of the heroics you all preform. It sparked much interest in Tula and I. We felt this team, as it is, would be the perfect opportunity to help."

"Batman and I had been arranging it for some time now," Aquaman continued. "We had to make a few last minute preparations, and wait for the right time."

"So what makes now the right time?" asked Desmond. Aquaman walked to the center of the room, pulling up the large holo-computer. He typed into the keyboard, and several images popped up. A large freighter ship, a map of the Caribbean, and the image of a man in a black metal suit. His outfit looked vaguely familiar to Desmond for some reason, but he couldn't place it.

"Three days ago," Aquaman began explaining. "A freighter disappeared off the coast of Barbados. The League had been tracking the freighter for some time, as we had reason to believe Bruno Mannheim and Intergang were somehow involved." Another image was pulled up, this one of Intergang leader Bruno "Ugly" Mannheim. He did the nickname justice. "Based on the trajectory of the ship's path, we had assumed it was making a stop in Nassau, before heading to Florida. However, this was all before it disappeared. We have no concrete proof that could stick this on anyone, but we mostly suspect this man," he gestured to the man in the black outfit. "Black Manta, a former agent of Ocean Master."

"Manta was the one behind the attack on Atlantis last year," Aqualad recalled. "When a sample of the Starro creature was stolen."

"Indeed," Aquaman said, nodding. "And, as you all know, that sample was later used in the creation of the biotechnology that was almost able to wipe out the entire Justice League, under the commands of Vandal Savage, last New Year's Eve."

"Aquaman, do you think Black Manta could be working with Savage?" Desmond asked. "The only person we saw with him was Klarion." _And Red Arrow,_ Desmond thought. No, that wasn't true. It had been a clone of Roy Harper, a sleeper agent. He hadn't been working with Savage, he had been orchestrated by Savage, unwillingly. But now wasn't the time to think about that.

"It is a definite possibility," Aquaman said. "Batman and I conferred over the matter, and felt that a recon mission on the location where Mannheim's ship disappeared would prove as an excellent introduction to the Team for Tula and Garth. If you're all up to the challenge." Aqualad stepped up.

"My King," he said. "We are always up to the challenge."

XxXxX

The Bioship soared over Barbados, headed for the coordinates where Mannheim's ship was last spotted. They were going over the plan. "We will divide into two squads," Aqualad said, from the area near the helm of the Bioship. "Alpha Squad will consist of Tula, Miss Martian, Garth and myself. Our main objective will be scouring the northern and western quadrants of the perimeter. The rest of you, Superboy, Kid Flash, Artemis, Zatana and Shifter, will be Beta Squad, in charge of the southern and eastern parts of the perimeter. Shifter, you will lead Beta Squad." Aqualad paused a moment, and exchanged a look with Shifter, who nodded. They had talked privately for a bit already, during which Kaldur had wanted to make sure Des was feeling up to leading a squad after what had happened in Qurac. He didn't want to put Des in a tight spot. Desmond had said that he was ready. And he was. So he nodded at the Atlantian. "At the first sign of Mannheim's ship, or anything involving Black Manta, contact the other Squad. Aquagirl, Tempest, are you adjusted to M'gann's mental link yet?"

"Adjusted enough," Tempest said. Garth had chosen that name. And Tula, obviously, had chosen Aquagirl. "It is still a bit strange."

"Still a bit strange for us too, actually," Wally joked.

The Bioship continued along, until it slowed to a hover over the spot of ocean designated on the maps Aquaman had supplied them with. Aqualad stood. "Atlantians, deploy." M'gann opened a hatch in the bottom of the Bioship, and Kaldur, Tula and Garth all dove out of it, gracefully entering the water despite a drop of about seventy feet.

_Any immediate signs?_ Desmond mentally asked Kaldur.

_Nothing as of yet,_ he responded. _Miss Martian, begin your descent._ M'gann made the Bioship close up the hole, and it's shape changed entirely. It became more streamlined, more capable of maneuvering through the water. A large section of the front gained a window, so those inside would be able to effectively scan the area. It tilted, and M'gann drove it straight into the ocean below. The entered the water, and she deactivated the cloaking function.

M'gann rose out of her seat, and Des did as well. They walked to the side of the ship, and Desmond phased the both of them out into the water. He watched as M'gann shifted her form; her legs became a long fish tail, and she developed gills on her neck. She nodded when the shift was complete, and Desmond phased himself back into the ship. When he returned, he found Artemis had taken M'gann's seat, which made sense, as she was to piloting the ship while M'gann traveled with the Atlantians.

_Miss Martian will be joining you shortly,_ Desmond thought to Aqualad. _Beta Squad departing._

_Good luck Beta Squad,_ Aqualad replied. _Alpha Squad out._ In the distance, four humanoid shapes quickly swam by. The Atlantians and M'gann, Alpha Squad, headed to their quadrant. Desmond took Aqualad's seat at the front of the Bioship.

"Begin heading to the northeast quadrant," he ordered. Artemis obliged, maneuvering the ship around and began piloting it in the right direction. "Eyes open guys. We've got to stay alert."

The Bioship gently swam through the soft currents of the Atlantic Ocean, while the teens inside scanned the ocean floor, and the surrounding area. Shifter and Superboy peered out the front window, scanning the area immediately ahead of them. Superboy's x-ray and thermal visions came in handy here, but so far he had found nothing. Kid Flash and Zatana were both glued to monitor screens, each scanning their respective side of the Bioship. Artemis, while piloting the ship, also kept one eye on a sonar-like radar for any unusual blips. They had been down there nearly forty minutes by now.

"We've been here nearly forty minutes by now," Kid Flash groaned.

"Thank you, Wally," Desmond said. "And by the way, have I thanked you for the previous seven updates on the time, which you've given us every five minutes?"

"No."

"Good. Now look at your monitor. I'm sure Alpha Squad is having just as boring of a time."

"Uh… Shifter," said Superboy, getting Desmond's attention. "I can see something behind that group of rocks." He pointed to a cluster of large rocks, nestled near the side of a large underwater rock face. "Looks like a crate. Might be nothing. Or…" The two exchanged a look, and Shifter nodded.

"Artemis, bring the ship around," Shifter said.

"On it," Artemis replied. The Bioship moved deftly through the water, coasting towards the rock cluster. It was stacked high, and as the ship circled around it, Desmond could see that there was in fact a large crate there, which had been obscured by the rocks.

"Bring us in," Desmond said. "I'll phase it in." Artemis moved the ship directly over the crate, and Desmond phased through the floor. The water was freezing, and so he moved as fast as he could, grabbing the edges of the crate, and straining to lift it to the base of the Bioship. He phased both the crate and himself through, and the Team gathered around. Superboy and Shifter each grabbed a side of the lid, which was secured on with several dozen screws and nails, and lifted. The top came off, and Kid Flash dug a hand in. He pulled out what appeared to be a harness of some sort, with a large hole in the middle, all black and red. Next came several Frisbee-sized discs of blood red.

"That's Apokoliptian technology," said Superboy. He'd had an experience with it last year. "The kind of stuff Intergang deals with."

"Mannheim." Artemis said.

"Hey guys," said Zatana, who had moved away from the crate to look at something out the front window. "Check this out." The Team moved over to where she stood, and followed where her finger was pointing. The lights from the Bioship were illuminating a large entrance to the rock wall next to where the crate had been; the opening of an underwater cave.

"A cave opening next to the crate of Intergang merchandise," KF said. "Coincidence much? Anyone else thinking what I'm thinking?"

"We'll check it out," said Shifter. "Let me contact Alpha." He closed his eyes, to concentrate, though it wasn't really necessary. _Aqualad, you there? We found something._

_What is it?_ Aqualad thought back.

_A crate of Apokoliptian weapons, _Shifter explained. _And a cave entrance. Going to check it out. Do you want us to wait for you?_

_Use your best judgment. Alpha Squad and I are more than likely upwards of twenty minutes from your location. I have your coordinates, and we're returning now._

_Affirmative, Shifter out._ Shifter turned to the others. "Aqualad and the others are maybe twenty minutes away. I say we wait it out." The others shrugged, and went about trying to find ways to busy themselves as they waited. Artemis reengaged the cloaking mode, in case any of Intergang or Manta's men happened upon them. Superboy and Kid Flash sorted through the Apokolips weapons. Eventually, Shifter had had enough of being idle.

"Okay," he said. "It's been fifteen minutes, and they're not here. I'll take a few of you in. Those that stay behind need to keep an eye out for anyone coming, and alert Aqualad and the others of where we went when they show up." He thought for a moment. "Kid, Zatana, you're with me. Artemis and Superboy, stay and keep watch." Everyone nodded.

"Tiustew!" Zatana said, and in a flash her usual attire had shifted into a black and white, one piece wetsuit. Shifter, Zatana and Kid Flash walked to the side of the Bioship nearest the cave entrance. "Selbbub Ria!" Zatana chanted. Three large, perfectly round bubbles of air formed around the heads of Zatana, KF and Shifter. Kid Flash touched his, flicked it even, and it did not pop.

"Cool!" he said, though the bubble muffled his voice. Shifter took the two others by the hand, and phased all three into the cold water. He took a few deep breaths, just to be sure of the efficiency of the bubbles, and then gestured to the cave entrance. The others nodded, and they began to swim in.

The further along they went, the more they questioned how deep this cave actually was. Desmond risked a glance back, and realized he could no longer see the lights of the Bioship. He was confused, therefor, as to why there was still enough light to see Zatana and KF so clearly. The question was answered in a moment, when he glimpse the glass-encased lights that stuck out of the ceiling and floor of the underwater cave.

_Guess we're on the right track,_ he thought to the others. They continued swimming, eventually coming to a sharp turn in the caves' structure. Shifter rounded the curve first, then quickly swam back behind the wall, grabbing Zatana and Kid Flash so as to drag them back with him.

_What?_ Asked Kid Flash.

_Submarine ahead,_ Shifter said. _Shaped like a giant, black, manta ray._ It was true; around the corner was an immense black submarine, in the shape of a manta. Obviously the sub belonged to the villain of the same name.

_Do we head in?_ asked Zatana. _Or wait for Aqualad?_

_We're sitting ducks if we just wait here,_ Shifter reasoned. _And it's too far of a swim back. We found them, but there's no guarantee that they won't escape out of another exit. We go in._ The two others nodded, and they began swimming. Shifter contacted Aqualad. _Kaldur, we've found Manta's submarine. Heading inside. Will stay covert until you get here._

_Acknowledged,_ Aqualad's voice responded. _We'll be with you shortly._

The three heroes got to the side of the sub, and Shifter phased the three of them through. They arrived in a dimly lit hallway, with metal walls, floor and ceiling. The bubbles quickly faded away, and they engaged the stealth modes on their suits (Zatana had returned her clothes to the usual outfit.) Kid Flash scouted ahead, and then returned.

"The hallway leads to one door," he said. "Two guards outside the door. No idea if there are any inside."

"Okay," Shifter said. "Wally, you think you can take the guards out?"

"Consider it done," he said, then zipped off. There were the faint sounds of two bodies hitting the ground, and Kid Flash returned, carrying two guns made of black and red metal. Apokolips tech. "They were carrying these."

"Looks like Manta's goons got upgrades," Zatana muttered.

"Alright, let's see what's behind that door," Shifter said. They quickly but quietly headed down the hall, passing the two unconscious guards, and slowly opened the door. There were no lights within, but since no one made a sound when the door was opened, Shifter assumed it was safe. The three teens went in, and Kid Flash found a light switch. When he flicked it on, they found themselves in a room positively filled with large crates.

Desmond walked over to one, shifted his hand inside, and pulled out an Apokoliptian weapon. He moved to a different crate, repeated the process, and found more Apokolips technology. "It's all Apokoliptian. It looks like Intergang's entire stock is here."

"Which means either Manta high jacked it from Mannheim…" said Zatana.

"Or they're working together," Shifter said. "Either way, Manta has some heavy fire power now, which is bad news." He thought for a moment. If Robin had been with them, he would've planted some explosives and taken care of the problem easily. However, he was off in Blüdhaven, and Des didn't exactly carry C4 on his person.

"Hey, check it out," Wally said. He gestured to the back of the store room, to a wall that had the clear outline of a separation. "I bet you anything that's a hatch, and they use it to load all this tech. All we've got to do is open it back up, and dump all this junk in the ocean."

"Nice!" Des said. "You see a hatch-open lever anywhere?" The three teens searched the room, but turned up nothing. "Damn… I bet it's in the… control room, or whatever they have on this thing."

"So we've got to find it?" asked Zatana. Shifter nodded. "And the chance that Manta will be there?"

"I'd say pretty good," said Shifter.

"Perfect.

The three crept down the hallway to where they had started, and then headed in the other direction. They moved fast and silent, like they had been trained to do. Eventually, however, they ran into an issue. A split in direction, down two completely opposite hallways.

"Do we have time to check both?" asked Zatana.

"Not really," Shifter replied. "Alright, Kid Flash, Z, you guys take the right path. I'll go left. Maintain mental link contact at all times." The two others nodded, and darted off to the right. Shifter, with a deep breath, headed to the left.

He turned the first corner, and was nearly seen by a patrolling guard. He waited for the man to turn the corner he was hiding behind, then grabbed him by the back of his helmet-covered head. She smashed the man's face into the wall. The metal visor cracked, and the man slumped down, his head having rocketed off the inside of the helmet. Shifter opened the nearest door, which was luckily a bathroom, and shoved the unconscious man inside. But not before confiscating yet another piece of Apokoliptian weaponry.

Continuing along, he found himself at another fork in the tunnels. On an impulse, he took the left path once again, which led down straight for a while. There was a corner, which he came around, and ran straight. Another two directions. Left once more. It went straight for a while, until it led to yet another left turn. He took it, and found himself… back at the storage room. The one he had started at.

"Damn," he muttered. "Must've missed KF and Z… Well, I guess I'll just—"

"You'll what?" asked a voice. Shifter whirled. A man was standing there, wearing the large helmet that informed him that it was Black Manta. He was flanked by four henchmen. "What are you doing here, little hero?" Instead of a response, Desmond quickly jabbed Manta in the chest. The villain grabbed his arm, twisted, and flipped Shifter onto his back. Shifter quickly phased through the floor, came up behind two of the henchmen, and slammed their heads together. The fell to the ground, and the two others open fired.

Shifter lowered his density, but when one of the red pulses that emitted from the Apokolips tech hit him in the shoulder, it stung like fire. "Gah!" he shouted, gripping his shoulder. He charged past the two henchmen, shoulder-checked manta, and slammed himself into the door of the storage room. It flew open, and he tumbled into the darkness. Manta and his men followed.

"Give up!" the villain yelled, as his men continued firing the Apokoliptian weapons. "You can't escape. You're alone. You're fighting on my terms."

_I could really use some help here!_ Desmond thought to the others, as he jumped and rolled to avoid another shot from the weapons. _Anyone!_ Just then, there was a rumbling from the back of the room. Desmond turned to see a small hole forming, with two hands, pulsing with electricity, pulling it wider. Water was slowly beginning to pour in, and by the time the hole was wide enough for someone to fit through, the water was up to Shifter's calves. Through the hole emerged Aqualad and Garth.

"Shifter, to me!" Aqualad shouted. Shifter quickly ran to the boy. "Maneuver seven!" Desmond nodded, and used his interlocked fingers to propel Aqualad forward towards Manta. He used his water bearers to slice out, taking out one of the henchmen. Tempest stood.

"Stand back!" he commanded, and his hands began to glow. He sent twin streams of electricity towards the second henchman, who flew back, and slammed into the wall.

"Nice one, newbie!" Shifter said, and charged Manta. He grabbed the villain by the sides of his helmet, and swung him around. Just as he was about to release, twin beams of red light came from Manta's eyes, and stung into Shifter's chest. He screamed, and released, falling under the water. When he stood, the water was up to his knees, and quickly approaching waist-height.

"Aqualad, we've got to finish this now!" Shifter called. "Zatana and Kid Flash are still out there somewhere!"  
"Tell them to abandon ship," Aqualad said. "I will take Manta." Aqualad charged the villain, with Garth hurling bolts of electricity his way. Desmond quickly alerted Zatana and KF of the impending sinking of the sub, and told them to evacuate. Then he looked up, just in time to see Manta throw Aqualad into Tempest.

"Foolish, young heroes," Manta said, his voice slightly muffled by the helmet. "You may have ruined my stores of weaponry, but there are more where they came from. Leave this place, lest you sink with the rest." And Manta left the room.

"Did… did we just win?" Desmond asked, as he grasped Kaldur and Garth's hands to help them up.

"Highly unlikely," Aqualad said. "It seems he has reason for doing as he did." Just then there was the sound of hatches coming undone, and the storage room fell away from the rest of the sub. The manta-shaped sea craft, which began to power away. They were submerged in the water. Desmond's eyes filed with panic, as he clutched at his throat. He had nothing to keep him alive. No underwater re-breather, no magic bubbles that Zatana could conjure up, nothing.

Aqualad pointed in the direction of the exit, and the three began swimming. Desmond was nearly out of breath, when he felt a hand grab his. He looked up, and made out Garth, grasping Desmond's hand and swimming furiously. He had just enough time to smile faintly before he blacked out.

XxXxX

The first thing Des did when he woke up was spit water onto Tula's face. Then he coughed for about thirty, maybe forty seconds. "Easy, Shifter. Sit slowly." Tula gently eased him up. He sat, and looked around, saw he was on the floor of the Bioship, with the others crowded around.

"What…" he said, between coughs. "What happened?"

"You were not able to swim far enough under water," Kaldur explained. "If Garth had not taken your hand and helped you along, you surely would've drowned."

"And when the three of you got back," Wally said. "You were out cold. Tula said she'd studied some sort of Atlantian resuscitation technique. Looked a lot like mouth-to-mouth to me."

"An awful lot like mouth-to-mouth…" Artemis grumbled. Desmond winked at her. He sat up further, and looked at Tula and Garth for a moment. Then he turned to Kaldur.

"Your king made a good choice," he said. He looked back at the others. "Welcome to the Team you two."

_So I have no idea how canon any of that is, but it's what I'm going with. Yes, this fic is going to include the introduction of most (if not all) of the past or present members of the team, as of the five year time-skip. Luckily the loyal fans of Young Justice have done a lot of piecing together of information, so I have a lot to go off of. _

_Side note, you have no idea how hard it was to not write a Christmas chapter recently. I will write one, but it will come in, like February or something, I don't know. Anyway, thanks for reading, maybe drop me a review or a favorite, and keep an eye out for the next update!_


End file.
